Page 58 of Strike Fast

“I mean it,” he said softly, staring deep into her eyes. “Thank you.”

She cleared her throat and dropped her gaze to his throat. “You’re welcome. I just wish I could find her for you.”

He kissed the bridge of her nose, then released her and headed for the coffee pot. “Mind if we take these to go?”

“Not at all.”

Within twenty minutes they were seated in the lead detective’s office. Given the early hour, only a handful of officers were at the station. Seated behind his desk, Detective Espinosa had bags under his eyes as well, and his shirt was rumpled. As though he’d pulled an all-nighter trying to get a lead on Autumn.

“I wish I could tell you we have something more to go on,” he told them, “but I don’t. I’ve talked to the lead FBI agent helping with the case and there’s no update to pass along.”

Reid sat next to her like a granite statue, his hands fisted on his thighs. Tess reached out and took one of them. He uncurled his fingers and wrapped them around hers, squeezed in silent acknowledgment.

Espinosa spoke to him. “As a father I can appreciate just how hard this must be on you. There’s really nothing more you can do here, though. Go home and—”

“All due respect, Detective, but I can’t do that.” Reid’s voice was hard. Unwavering.

Espinosa released a deep breath and nodded. “I understand. Just know that we’re doing everything we can to locate your daughter.”

Out in the lobby, Reid dropped her hand and started pacing from one side to the other, and her own stomach coiled in sympathy. “I need todosomething,” he told her, his eyes tortured. “I can’t just sit here doing sweet fuck all when she’s out there somewhere, needing me.”

Tess crossed to him and took both his hands in hers, looking into his tortured eyes. “They’re going to find her, Reid. I promise. And she’s going to be okay.” They had to believe that. Hope was the only thing keeping him going.

Reid’s jaw clenched as he stared at her, emotion swirling in his eyes. Then he grabbed her and hauled her up against him, his strong arms holding on for dear life as he buried his face in her neck.

His phone chimed.

He released her so fast she stumbled, her heart shooting into her throat when she saw the tension in his face as he looked at the screen. She held her breath, waiting, praying.

“Fuck.”

Her stomach dropped like a concrete block. For a moment, it felt like the room spun around her.She can’t be dead. Can’t be.“What?” she whispered, afraid of what he would say.

“Another goddamn head fuck,” he snarled, stalking back toward Espinosa’s office.

Without looking at her, he handed her the phone. It showed a picture of Autumn, a piece of duct tape covering her mouth, her wide eyes staring at the camera. The bastards had tied her hands and feet behind her.

Below it was another message from the kidnapper.

Waiting for the fun to start.

****

Reid was barely holding it together as he and his teammates gathered with the HRT guys at their headquarters at Quantico. Three hours had passed since he’d received the text from whoever had sent it.

The picture of Autumn wasn’t proof of life, but he had to believe she was still alive. Why bother transporting her at all if the kidnapper was planning to kill her? It made no sense.

Now everyone was assembled, but everything was moving too slowly. That text had originated from a phone nearby in the southern mountains of North Carolina. Analysts within the DEA, FBI and NSA were working as fast as they could to pinpoint the location, and working all their contacts to try and find a possible target. Once they got that, they could pull the trigger and go get Autumn back.

Because of his highly personal and emotional involvement in the case, Taggart had removed Reid from the op. Disciplined as he was, no matter the outcome of the rescue op, he was going to be too emotional to stay objective, and that could get someone killed. So he was sidelined for the time being, and this joint mission was going to go ahead without him.

The HRT would rescue Autumn, and his teammates would insert with them to go after Ruiz and his thugs, along with whatever drugs, money and weapons they could find. But he was damn well going to be there when it happened, as close as he could get to the action. That was the deal, and Taggart was allowing it because he trusted Reid. They’d monitor the situation from the mobile command center together, with DeLuca and the FBI support staff.

Reid looked up from the satellite image of an isolated North Carolina mountain community they were studying when Tess walked into the room. She was dressed in her flight suit, her crew and one other following her into the room. Their gazes met and she gave him a reassuring smile, silently conveying her faith in Autumn being alive.

A little of the tension inside him eased. His girl and the men he considered his brothers were going to get his baby back today, and once captured, that motherfucker Ruiz would pay for what he’d done.

For now, revenge could wait. All Reid cared about for the moment was getting his daughter back safely. Then he could worry about the rest of it. And do whatever it took to ensure Ruiz rotted inside a U.S. prison for the rest of his natural life.

---